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Unruh T, Götz K, Vogel C, Fröhlich E, Scheurer A, Porcar L, Steiniger F. Mesoscopic Structure of Lipid Nanoparticle Formulations for mRNA Drug Delivery: Comirnaty and Drug-Free Dispersions. ACS Nano 2024; 18:9746-9764. [PMID: 38514237 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.4c02610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/23/2024]
Abstract
Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) produced by antisolvent precipitation (ASP) are used in formulations for mRNA drug delivery. The mesoscopic structure of such complex multicomponent and polydisperse nanoparticulate systems is most relevant for their drug delivery properties, medical efficiency, shelf life, and possible side effects. However, the knowledge on the structural details of such formulations is very limited. Essentially no such information is publicly available for pharmaceutical dispersions approved by numerous medicine agencies for the use in humans and loaded with mRNA encoding a mimic of the spike protein of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as, e.g., the Comirnaty formulation (BioNTech/Pfizer). Here, we present a simple preparation method to mimic the Comirnaty drug-free LNPs including a comparison of their structural properties with those of Comirnaty. Strong evidence for the liquid state of the LNPs in both systems is found in contrast to the designation of the LNPs as solid lipid nanoparticles by BioNTech. An exceptionally detailed and reliable structural model for the LNPs i.a. revealing their unexpected narrow size distribution will be presented based on a combined small-angle X-ray scattering and photon correlation spectroscopy (SAXS/PCS) evaluation method. The results from this experimental approach are supported by light microscopy, 1H NMR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, cryogenic electron microscopy (cryoTEM), and simultaneous SAXS/SANS studies. The presented results do not provide direct insights on particle formation or dispersion stability but should contribute significantly to better understanding the LNP drug delivery process, enhancing their medical benefit, and reducing side effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tobias Unruh
- Institute for Crystallography and Structural Physics, Physics Department, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Staudtstraße 3, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
- Interdisciplinary Center for Nanostructured Films (IZNF) and Center for Nanoanalysis and Electron Microscopy (CENEM), Cauerstraße 3, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Klaus Götz
- Institute for Crystallography and Structural Physics, Physics Department, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Staudtstraße 3, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
- Interdisciplinary Center for Nanostructured Films (IZNF) and Center for Nanoanalysis and Electron Microscopy (CENEM), Cauerstraße 3, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Carola Vogel
- Institute for Crystallography and Structural Physics, Physics Department, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Staudtstraße 3, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
- Interdisciplinary Center for Nanostructured Films (IZNF) and Center for Nanoanalysis and Electron Microscopy (CENEM), Cauerstraße 3, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Erik Fröhlich
- Institute for Crystallography and Structural Physics, Physics Department, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Staudtstraße 3, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Andreas Scheurer
- Lehrstuhl für Anorganische und Allgemeine Chemie, Department Chemie und Pharmazie, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Egerlandstraße 1, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Lionel Porcar
- Large Scale Structures Group, Institut Laue-Langevin, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, 38042 Grenoble Cedex 9, France
| | - Frank Steiniger
- Electron Microscopy Center, Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07743 Jena, Germany
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Emslander Q, Krey K, Hamad S, Maidl S, Oubraham L, Hesse J, Henrici A, Austen K, Mergner J, Grass V, Pichlmair A. MDM2 Influences ACE2 Stability and SARS-CoV-2 Uptake. Viruses 2023; 15:1763. [PMID: 37632105 PMCID: PMC10459000 DOI: 10.3390/v15081763] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2023] [Revised: 07/20/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is the central entry receptor for SARS-CoV-2. However, surprisingly little is known about the effects of host regulators on ACE2 localization, expression, and the associated influence on SARS-CoV-2 infection. Here we identify that ACE2 expression levels are regulated by the E3 ligase MDM2 and that MDM2 levels indirectly influence infection with SARS-CoV-2. Genetic depletion of MDM2 elevated ACE2 expression levels, which strongly promoted infection with all SARS-CoV-2 isolates tested. SARS-CoV-2 spike-pseudotyped viruses and the uptake of non-replication-competent virus-like particles showed that MDM2 affects the viral uptake process. MDM2 ubiquitinates Lysine 788 of ACE2 to induce proteasomal degradation, and degradation of this residue led to higher ACE2 expression levels and superior virus particle uptake. Our study illustrates that cellular regulators of ACE2 stability, such as MDM2, play an important role in defining the infection capabilities of SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quirin Emslander
- Institute of Virology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich (TUM), 81675 Munich, Germany (S.H.)
| | - Karsten Krey
- Institute of Virology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich (TUM), 81675 Munich, Germany (S.H.)
| | - Sabri Hamad
- Institute of Virology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich (TUM), 81675 Munich, Germany (S.H.)
| | - Susanne Maidl
- Institute of Virology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich (TUM), 81675 Munich, Germany (S.H.)
| | - Lila Oubraham
- Institute of Virology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich (TUM), 81675 Munich, Germany (S.H.)
| | - Joshua Hesse
- Institute of Virology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich (TUM), 81675 Munich, Germany (S.H.)
| | - Alexander Henrici
- Institute of Virology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich (TUM), 81675 Munich, Germany (S.H.)
| | - Katharina Austen
- Institute of Virology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich (TUM), 81675 Munich, Germany (S.H.)
| | - Julia Mergner
- BayBioMS@MRI—Bavarian Center for Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry at Klinikum Rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, 81675 Munich, Germany
| | - Vincent Grass
- Institute of Virology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich (TUM), 81675 Munich, Germany (S.H.)
| | - Andreas Pichlmair
- Institute of Virology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich (TUM), 81675 Munich, Germany (S.H.)
- German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner site Munich, 81675 Munich, Germany
- Center of Immunology of Viral Infection (CiViA), Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
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Jiang C, Mu X, Liu S, Liu Z, Liu B, Du B, Tong Z. A Study of the Detection of SARS-CoV-2 by the Use of Electrochemiluminescent Biosensor Based on Asymmetric Polymerase Chain Reaction Amplification Strategy. IEEE Sens J 2023; 23:8094-8100. [PMID: 37216192 PMCID: PMC10168129 DOI: 10.1109/jsen.2022.3201507] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2022] [Revised: 07/27/2022] [Accepted: 08/20/2022] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
A new and reliable method has been constructed for detecting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) open reading frames 1ab (ORF1ab) gene via highly sensitive electrochemiluminescence (ECL) biosensor technology based on highly efficient asymmetric polymerase chain reaction (asymmetric PCR) amplification strategy. This method uses magnetic particles coupled with biotin-labeled one complementary nucleic acid sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 ORF1ab gene as the magnetic capture probes, and [Formula: see text]-labeled amino-modified another complementary nucleic acid sequence as the luminescent probes, and then a detection model of magnetic capture probes-asymmetric PCR amplification nucleic acid products-[Formula: see text]-labeled luminescent probes is formed, which combines the advantages of highly efficient asymmetric PCR amplification strategy and highly sensitive ECL biosensor technology, enhancing the method sensitivity of detecting the SARS-CoV-2 ORF1ab gene. The method enables the rapid and sensitive detection of the ORF1ab gene and has a linear range of 1-[Formula: see text] copies/[Formula: see text], a regression equation of [Formula: see text] = [Formula: see text] + 2919.301 ([Formula: see text] = 0.9983, [Formula: see text] = 7), and a limit of detection (LOD) of 1 copy/[Formula: see text]. In summary, it can meet the analytical requirements for simulated saliva and urine samples and has the benefits of easy operation, reasonable reproducibility, high sensitivity, and anti-interference abilities, which can provide a reference for developing efficient field detection methods for SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunying Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of NBC Protection for CivilianBeijing102205China
| | - Xihui Mu
- State Key Laboratory of NBC Protection for CivilianBeijing102205China
| | - Shuai Liu
- State Key Laboratory of NBC Protection for CivilianBeijing102205China
| | - Zhiwei Liu
- State Key Laboratory of NBC Protection for CivilianBeijing102205China
| | - Bing Liu
- State Key Laboratory of NBC Protection for CivilianBeijing102205China
| | - Bin Du
- State Key Laboratory of NBC Protection for CivilianBeijing102205China
| | - Zhaoyang Tong
- State Key Laboratory of NBC Protection for CivilianBeijing102205China
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Qu Q, Hao P, Xu W, Li L, Jiang Y, Xu Z, Chen J, Gao Z, Pang Z, Jin N, Li C. A Vaccine of SARS-CoV-2 S Protein RBD Induces Protective Immunity. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms232213716. [PMID: 36430190 PMCID: PMC9698474 DOI: 10.3390/ijms232213716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2022] [Revised: 10/25/2022] [Accepted: 11/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The pandemic of the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has posed great threat to the world in many aspects. There is an urgent requirement for an effective preventive vaccine. The receptor binding domain (RBD), located on the spike (S) gene, is responsible for binding to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor of host cells. The RBD protein is an effective and safe antigen candidate. The six-helix bundle (6HB) "molecular clamp" is a novel thermally-stable trimerization domain derived from a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) gp41 protein segment. We selected the baculovirus system to fuse and express the RBD protein and 6HB for imitating the natural trimeric structure of RBD, named RBD-6HB. Recombinant RBD-6HB was successfully obtained from the cell culture supernatant and purified to high homogeneity. The purity of the final protein preparation was more than 97%. The results showed that the protein was identified as a homogeneous polymer. Further studies showed that the RBD-6HB protein combined with AL/CpG adjuvant could stimulate animals to produce sustained high-level antibodies and establish an effective protective barrier to protect mice from challenges. Our findings highlight the importance of trimerized SARS-CoV-2 S protein RBD in designing SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and provide a rationale for developing a protective vaccine through the induction of antibodies against the RBD domain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiaoqiao Qu
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
- Research Unit of Key Technologies for Prevention and Control of Virus Zoonoses, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Changchun Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun 130122, China
| | - Pengfei Hao
- Research Unit of Key Technologies for Prevention and Control of Virus Zoonoses, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Changchun Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun 130122, China
| | - Wang Xu
- Research Unit of Key Technologies for Prevention and Control of Virus Zoonoses, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Changchun Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun 130122, China
| | - Letian Li
- Research Unit of Key Technologies for Prevention and Control of Virus Zoonoses, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Changchun Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun 130122, China
| | - Yuhang Jiang
- Research Unit of Key Technologies for Prevention and Control of Virus Zoonoses, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Changchun Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun 130122, China
| | - Zhiqiang Xu
- Research Unit of Key Technologies for Prevention and Control of Virus Zoonoses, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Changchun Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun 130122, China
| | - Jing Chen
- Research Unit of Key Technologies for Prevention and Control of Virus Zoonoses, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Changchun Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun 130122, China
| | - Zihan Gao
- Research Unit of Key Technologies for Prevention and Control of Virus Zoonoses, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Changchun Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun 130122, China
| | - Zhaoxia Pang
- Research Unit of Key Technologies for Prevention and Control of Virus Zoonoses, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Changchun Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun 130122, China
| | - Ningyi Jin
- Research Unit of Key Technologies for Prevention and Control of Virus Zoonoses, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Changchun Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun 130122, China
- Correspondence: (N.J.); (C.L.)
| | - Chang Li
- Research Unit of Key Technologies for Prevention and Control of Virus Zoonoses, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Changchun Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun 130122, China
- Correspondence: (N.J.); (C.L.)
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Kumar R, Murugan NA, Srivastava V. Improved Binding Affinity of Omicron's Spike Protein for the Human Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 Receptor Is the Key behind Its Increased Virulence. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:3409. [PMID: 35328828 PMCID: PMC8955673 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23063409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2021] [Revised: 01/24/2022] [Accepted: 03/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
The new variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2), Omicron, has been quickly spreading in many countries worldwide. Compared to the original virus, Omicron is characterized by several mutations in its genomic region, including the spike protein's receptor-binding domain (RBD). We have computationally investigated the interaction between the RBD of both the wild type and Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 with the human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2) receptor using molecular dynamics and molecular mechanics-generalized Born surface area (MM-GBSA)-based binding free energy calculations. The mode of the interaction between Omicron's RBD with the hACE2 receptor is similar to the original SARS-CoV-2 RBD except for a few key differences. The binding free energy difference shows that the spike protein of Omicron has an increased affinity for the hACE2 receptor. The mutated residues in the RBD showed strong interactions with a few amino acid residues of hACE2. More specifically, strong electrostatic interactions (salt bridges) and hydrogen bonding were observed between R493 and R498 residues of the Omicron RBD with D30/E35 and D38 residues of the hACE2, respectively. Other mutated amino acids in the Omicron RBD, e.g., S496 and H505, also exhibited hydrogen bonding with the hACE2 receptor. A pi-stacking interaction was also observed between tyrosine residues (RBD-Tyr501: hACE2-Tyr41) in the complex, which contributes majorly to the binding free energies and suggests that this is one of the key interactions stabilizing the formation of the complex. The resulting structural insights into the RBD:hACE2 complex, the binding mode information within it, and residue-wise contributions to the free energy provide insight into the increased transmissibility of Omicron and pave the way to design and optimize novel antiviral agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rajender Kumar
- Division of Glycoscience, Department of Chemistry, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, AlbaNova University Center, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden;
| | - Natarajan Arul Murugan
- Department of Computer Science, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 100 44 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Vaibhav Srivastava
- Division of Glycoscience, Department of Chemistry, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, AlbaNova University Center, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden;
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